Promises Made, Promises Kept?
We Need More Deportations. Is Khalil The Right Choice?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stopped publishing deportation figures but deportations are neck and neck with those under the Biden administration. Today’s Trump administration is deporting less illegals than Obama did. Immigration remains the issue at the top of every American voter’s mind, an important statistic as we head into the midterms. 42% of Americans (72% of Republicans) realize an open country leads to no country.
So when a deportation case like Mahmoud Khalil’s hit headlines this week, we have to ask ourselves why. Khalil is a Columbia University graduate and a Palestinian. His voice at rallies opposing Palestinian genocide on the American dime has been authentic and steadied. This week, Speaker Mike Johnson admitted Khalil committed no “crime” and so his arrest and charge were purely political. These are very shaky legal grounds to arrest and deport a green card holder in the United States. Journalist Glenn Greenwald, with his typical acuity, summed up the situation on X:
Free speech is an American value. As Vice President Vance publicly noted, free speech sets us apart from our European counterparts who have much less (if at all). Who is Khalil threatening with his speech? Certainly not Jewish students, who joined Khalil repeatedly, as Greenwald noted. I’m not offended by Khalil standing up against Palestinian genocide, as Palestinians’ electricity has been cut off this week after the electricity plant Palestinians built themselves was bombed to bits by Israel in 2006. That is a war crime. Palestinians rebuilt their electricity plant in less than a year, a strong testament to how quickly they can rebuild Gaza. Israel responded by bombing the Gaza Power Plant again in 2014, and again in 2021.
Aggravating those who advocate for peace in the Middle East is poor strategy. Attacking students, future voters, is stranger still. Advocating peace in the Middle East helped Trump win swing state Michigan in 2024. Reneging on those remarks could make Republicans lose the Wolverine State.
The following is a list of groups the Trump administration could deport with stronger legal standing, which would have a far greater impact on this country’s health:
So what do we need more of? Immigration judges? ICE agents? I know quite a few J6ers who are jobless and would love to be able to serve.
Bottom Line: More Deportations Are Needed.
The arrest and lawfare against Khalil does nothing to address this gloomy conclusion.